The EverBurning Flame
by Flame-san
Summary: Zuko has a new plan, one that cannot fail, but he needs Katara. When Zhao uncovers the plan, however, he moves in to take the prize for himself. When the plan goes horribly wrong, and Zuko is gravely injured, what will Katara do? ZukoxKatara
1. Chapter 1

_He was dying. She ran to him, and took him in her arms. The heat of the flames burned her skin, but still she wouldn't let go. "No, don't leave me! Please, don't go!" Tears streamed down her face as she held him with all her might. They were both dying now, and there was nothing anyone could do. His voice, hoarse now, spoke in her ear._

_"Katara?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"I-_

Katara sat up in her bedroll, sweating. What had her dream been about? All she remembered was grief, pain, and something else she couldn't quite name. She sat up and pondered for a minute, trying to recall her dream. Then she remembered. The fire raged behind her eyelids once again, and she was forced to once more experience the pain of the boy next to her. As she shivered from the cold, she pulled a thin jacket over her robe. She practiced waterbending with the water in a nearby puddle, but she couldn't concentrate for long. She finally gave up and let the water drop back into the puddle.

As Katara examined her shadowy surroundings, her eyes stopped on Sokka and Aang, the Avatar. Their tired faces poked out of large sleeping bags, and looked so ridiculous that Katara had to stifle a laugh. They had been traveling for many days now, running from Prince Zuko and Admiral Zhau of the Fire Nation, who both had a strange lust for chasing the Avatar. The only good thing about the two was that they were sworn enemies. Whenever the two firebenders were in one place, they conveniently forgot about the Avatar and started dueling one another. After one of their more recent duels, they had managed to simultaneously catch sight of Appa and send a barrage of fireballs at Appa and the rest of them. After a while, Appa had no longer been able to take the strain, so they had to crash landed on a small deserted island to rest until Appa recovered. He has managed to dodge most of the fireballs, but one had landed on his tail and burned most of the fur off. Appa needed his tail to help him fly, so he had barely managed to make it to this island. If they'd been forced to go any farther, well... Katara didn't want to think about it. The last thing she remembered before they landed on the island was Prince Zuko's face. He was looking right at her, deep in thought. The image had stayed with her for the rest of the night. She didn't really mind the image, but the image wouldn't go away, almost as if it were trying to tell her something.

While Katara pondered the events of the past week, a lone figure was seen on the prow of a Fire Navy Ship. Prince Zuko stared at the jungle that spread before him, and groaned. With that kind of cover, and his natural ability for evading Prince Zuko's grasp, the Avatar and his companions would probably be able to escape to another island before he could even find out where their camp was. He was beginning to lose his temper though, and decided to do the one thing that could clear his mind: train.

As blast after blast of fire shot over the side of the ship, the answer came to Zuko in a flash. He grinned, and then notified his soldiers that he would be taking a walk through the woods to help him finish formulating his plan. Before he left the ship, he stared at the moon, and remembered the face of that girl. What was her name again? Katra, Karata, something like that. Zuko remembered her face from yesterday, when they had accidentally locked eyes. That blasted face had bothered him all night, but the worst part was the fact that it was almost like it was speaking to him, but he couldn't hear the words. He growled, trying to clear the thought from his mind, and failing. He stormed off the ship, hoping to find some water to dunk his head into. That always helped bring him to his senses.

Katara tried to go back to sleep, but her restless thoughts wouldn't leave her alone. She looked at the moonlit path into the woods, and suddenly decided that a walk would do her quite a bit of good. She grinned evilly tiptoed over to the sleeping form of her brother and nudged him awake. He groaned, so she knew he was awake, but he stubbornly refused to open his eyes.

"Sokka!" she said in a singsong voice, "Sokka!"

"Shh! Be quiet all ready! I'm awake, ok? What do you want, Katara? If its not about food, let me sleep."

Katara waited until her brother was done complaining and said, "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back before sunrise."

"Want me to come with you?" Katara smiled at the suddenly upright form of the Avatar. "No, I'm fine Aang. Go back to sleep."

"You sure?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry."

Her brother caught her eye, and nodded, defeated. "Fine, but watch out for any firebending scum, especially that Prince brat." he told her, grimacing.

As soon as Sokka had finished his sentenced, he had fallen back onto the pillow and gone right back to sleep.

Katara rose from the ground and strolled down the path that led into the forest, looking for a pond to sit by. She saw a few small ones that dotted the lake, but none of them seemed right. Eventually, she found one that caused her to sigh in contentment. It was nothing special, just a small pond with moonlight breaking through the branches above it, but it was peaceful. Katara sat by the water's edge and sang an old lullaby her mother used to sing to her, her voice hushed, but no less filled with emotion.

_Hold me darling,_

_hold me my love,_

_through the fire of the storm,_

_and the darkness of the flood._

_You start a fire deep within my heart,_

_and wash away the tears,_

_you throw my troubles to the wind,_

_and bury all my fears._

_I'll be there for you,_

_if you'll be there for me,_

_so hold me my darling,_

_hold me my love._

Katara barely noticed when the tears came. She sat there, on the rock, crying, until a cold voice jolted her out of her reverie. "Well, well, it's you again."

Katara froze at the sound of that voice, and turned around. There, at the edge of the clearing, was the person she had been fleeing for the past 2 years. Prince Zuko stepped out of the shadows and smirked at the shock on her face. "Don't try to run. I've got men surrounding this clearing. It's pointless. You might as well just listen to what I have to say."

"Fine. But don't try to make me tell where Aang is, because I'm not going to tell you."

"Relax. I just want to ask a few questions." _Girls_

"Okay Mr. Interrogator, fire away." _Boys_

"What's your name?"

"Katara."

"Katara. Interesting name." Katara shivered at the sound of her name on Prince Zuko's lips.

Prince Zuko, on the other hand, thought her name was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. "How old are you?"

Katara was startled. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. How old are you?"

"I'm not telling unless you tell me." Katara stated mulishly.

"Why should I?"

"Because it's only fair."

"Uurgh! Oh, fine. I'm sixteen. Now, tell."

_Wow. he looks a lot older than sixteen._Katara thought.

"Answer me!" roared the Prince

" I'm fourteen. Happy?"

"Not - OW!"

A well aimed waterwhip whacked him on the side of the head so hard he thought that his head would shake itself to pieces. He looked at Katara, who was smirking and had another waterwhip aimed at his head. "Don't make me hurt you, _Prince_Zuko. Zuko growled at the sarcastic tone in her voice and heated a fireball in his palm. Before Katara could react, she had been knocked off of her feet by a deadly fireball. Why it did not burn her she did not know, but she did know that she was losing consciousness, and fast.

As she lay on the ground, woozy, she was lifted from the ground. She struggled, but Zuko held her tightly in his arms. As they walked along, Katara noticed that Zuko was very warm, and was glad that the dark of night hid her furious blushing. When his grip on her relaxed, she found herself not at all minding his hold on her. In fact she was almost enjoying it, and subconsciously leaned into his hold. _This isn't so bad... what am I thinking? He's the enemy!_No matter how many times she reminded herself of this, she couldn't block out how tenderly Zuko was carrying her towards the harbor.

The last thing she remembered, before she slipped into unconsciousness, was soft lips pressing against hers, and a warm embrace that left her nearly drowning in a whole torrent of feelings. She was almost glad when she finally lost consciousness...

Zuko's men stared as their prince carried the girl aboard. Who was she? Did she have something to do with the Avatar? And what did she have to do with Prince Zuko? They knew none of their questions would be answered, but it didn't stop them from whispering among themselves as Zuko passed by with Katara. All it took was one glare before they sunk back into the shadows and waited to resume their conversations until he had passed by.

They had just set sail when the sun broke free of the horizon and a cry rang out from the forest. Sokka had discovered that Katara was gone.


	2. Tears of Grief and Gratitude

"She's gone!" Sokka's anguished cry rang out from the camp. He was running around the island where they had been staying like crazy, but no sign of Katara. As Sokka screamed his frustration at the sky, he heard a strange sound behind him, a sound that was somewhere a sob and a strangling noise. Aang was sitting on a rock, holding his staff, with his head in his arms. Tears were streaming down his cheek, and his whole body shook with heartbreaking sobs. Sokka sat down behind him, and did something very un-Sokka like. He gave Aang a hug.

"It's okay Aang, we'll find her." This seemed to comfort Aang as much as the hug, and Aang managed a strained smile.

"Thanks."

"No problem, but don't get used to it." Sokka grinned at Aang. "Now, let's go get something to eat."

Back on the Fire Nave Ship, more tears were being shed. But these were tears of gratitude. For Uncle Iroh had come to visit Katara in her rooms and brought some tea. He had allowed her to spill out everything that was bothering her, including Zuko's kiss. When she was done, he had given her a heartwarming hug, and some jasmine tea. Katara had no idea how to thank him, so she just gave him the most grateful smile she could and a soft, "Thank you."

"Oh, no problem. It is a pleasure having tea with such a kind young lady. Would you care to come up to the deck and enjoy the sunset? I'm sure it would help you take your mind off your predicament!" With a smile once again gracing her face, Katara got up from her bed, followed Iroh to the deck, and gasped.

The sunset wasn't the only thing she could see from the observation platform. Below them, Prince Zuko was training with a member of the crew. Although the sunset was gorgeous, Katara couldn't help tearing her eyes away from the dimming light and watching those beautiful blasts of fire and the firebender who was their creator.

As the sun finally slipped beneath the horizon, two teenagers from the Southern Water Tribe stared up at one moon, and wondered where the other was, and if they were okay. Sokka whispered to the wind, "Love you sis, see you soon." and hoped that Katara would somehow hear him.

---

Zuko stared sullenly at the Fire Nation tapestry hanging on his wall. It seemed to taunt him, singing inside his head:

_You're Fire Nation, she's Water Tribe, You're Fire Nation, she's Water Tribe..._

He sent a flaming punch at the tapestry, but he couldn't take solitude in the charred wall hanging. All he could see was her face, and all he could hear was her voice. He moaned and sank back onto the bed, exhausted and worn out. He had been training nearly all day, trying to get her out of his head and focus on his plan.

_Remember the plan, remember the plan, REMEMBER THE PLAN!_

"Anything wrong, nephew?" Iroh poked his head around the corner.

Zuko turned away from his uncle and growled. "Go away Uncle. I want to go to sleep."

"What's this? Why is your Fire Nation Tapestry burned, Prince Zuko?"

"It was just an accident. Now let me _sleep_, Uncle." Iroh slipped out of the room and padded down the hallway to his own.

_Hold me darling,_

_Hold me my love,_

_Through the fire of the storm,_

_And the darkness of the flood._

_You start a fire deep within my heart,_

_And wash away the tears,_

_You throw my troubles to the wind,_

_And bury all my fears._

_I'll be there for you,_

_If you'll be there for me,_

_So hold me my darling,_

_Hold me my love._

Where had that dratted song come from? Zuko remembered hearing the Katara singing it before he ambushed her. It was a lovely song, and it reminded him of the song his mother used to sing to him. He wondered how she knew it…

_I'll ask her about it tomorrow._

A dark shadow slipped through the night, and landed solidly on the deck of the ship. Katara sat up in bed, listening to the noise, and screamed.


End file.
